Former ESPN reporter Prim Siripipat taking second shot at pro tennis career

When Prim Siripipat was let go from ESPN in April, it gave her the chance to recommit herself to tennis.

The former Duke tennis star's decision to return to the court is detailed a new Washington Post story by Kelyn Soong.

"I felt I didn't go down fighting," Siripipat, 36, told the Washington Post. "It was just so anti-climatic. ... I started my career in broadcasting and never really took the time to properly say goodbye to the sport."

Siripipat was one of the top 10 juniors in the country in the late 1990s before going to Duke, according to the Post. Her Duke bio says she tallied a 44-15 singles record and went 17-2 in ACC matches, but a rotator cuff injury and two knee surgeries kept her sidelined for most of her final year. After graduating, she started her broadcast career.

But around May of 2016, she began to train again while still at ESPN, according to the Washington Post. After she was laid off from the company, she fully committed herself to tennis.

Siripipat did not win a match in the two International Tennis Federation tournaments she's competed in so far, but she told the Washington Post that her goals remain to secure that victory, a WTA ranking and find closure in her tennis career.